The Continuing Story of Ahsoka and Ghes
by jim1195
Summary: An anthology off short stories continuing of of my story Marczak. Based around slower, more character driven ideas that I couldn't fit in to the main story. Opinions welcome, will add character tags as needed. Discontinued pending completion of other projects.
1. Chapter 1

The two men shifted uncomfortably in their seats, trying hard not to look at the man they were supposed to be guarding. Ahsoka smirked, Ghes had that effect on people, even the renowned Rebel SpecForce. No, _Republic_ SpecForce, she remembered, the upstart government considered itself official now, especially since they'd captured Coruscant. Rebel or Republic, that didn't change much in Ghes's eyes. They'd been his enemy for years, and being their prisoner, though that term was applied very liberally, had really gotten on his nerves. As far as he was concerned, with Coruscant captured and Isaard on the run, his obligation to the fledgling Republic was fulfilled. They obviously didn't see it that way though, there had been no talk of releasing Ahsoka and Ghes since the battle, and this morning they'd been herded onto a shuttle with the two guards that currently sat across from them.

Ahsoka wondered why they even bothered with the guards anymore, she and Ghes had never made any attempt to escape. Not that anyone short of Luke Skywalker and a company of SpecForce would have been able to stop them if they tried. At least they'd stopped with the restraints every time they were outside of a secure room, that had been aggravating.

Ghes sat up and moved his hands behind his back to stretch, the guards tensed up, tightening their grip on their blasters and preparing to rush to restrain him. Ahsoka tried to keep from laughing, but it didn't work and one of them briefly scowled in her direction. These two had probably seen what had happened to their predecessors last week when Ghes had gotten his hands on his armor and they'd made the mistake of putting him in the same room as General Madine. Luckily for Crix, he'd been in Imperial special forces long enough to see the old GAR trick coming before Ghes managed to stab him in the neck with his gauntlet vibroblade. The two guards that had tried to restrain Ghes, however, weren't so lucky, and spent the next three days in bacta tanks recovering from the blunt for trauma of being hit repeatedly with _beskar_ covered fists. That little outburst had cost Ghes his armor and put him back in a black officer's uniform, however increasingly meaningless that uniform was becoming. He'd grumbled about that for a while.

Sometimes Ahsoka wished that Ghes would look on the bright side of things for a change, like she tried to. For example, if you didn't count the guards who thought, wrongly, that Ghes would be easier to handle without his armor, no one had tried to kill them in weeks. They'd also had a lot more time to spend with each other, now that Ghes was essentially retired, the kind of quality time they hadn't really been able to have at an, the kind of quality time they hadn't really been able to have at any point in their marriage. And then there was Luke and Leia. The two reminded her of Anakin, before Vader, and they treated her like an aunt, always asking questions about their parents and the war. Luke seemed especially interested in the Jedi, probably because he'd taken it upon himself to the Order. He'd asked Ahsoka to assist him in this. She'd never really given him an answer.

The shuttle's trajectory shifted slightly and the hull rattled. They'd entered the upper layers of an atmosphere, that meant wherever they were going wasn't another ship, it was somewhere on Coruscant. Unfortunately, Ahsoka and Ghes still wouldn't have any idea of where in Galactic City they were, Lambda _-_ class shuttles didn't have windows in the passenger compartment, and the cockpit was locked off to keep them from hijacking the shuttle.

The two didn't have to wonder about their destination for long. The shuttle was only in the air for a few more minutes before being set down. At least they knew they were somewhere in the upper levels of the city. As the engines powered down, the two guards stood.

"Sir, Ma'am, if you would please exit the shuttle."

No point arguing, though Ahsoka briefly considered asking again where they were and why they were here, but that seemed like a moot point now that they'd arrived. Her and Ghes stood and walked to the top of the boarding ramp, in front of and never getting within an arm's reach of the two guards. The ramp descended and they stepped off the ship, and, upon seeing where they were, stood in stunned silence. They were in the one place neither had ever expected to step foot again, the Jedi Temple.

Ahsoka was quickly shaken out of her shock as she felt a familiar presence approaching. She turned to see a black figure clambering out of a red-marked X-wing parked on the adjacent platform. The SpecForce troopers snapped to attention and saluted once he was within ten meters.

"General Skywalker."

Ahsoka winced, as she did every time she heard anyone address Luke in the same way that the clones had addressed his father during the war. Bittersweet memories.

"Sergeant, Corporal. You're dismissed, I can take it from here."

"Sir?"

"I can keep an eye on these two myself, go."

"But…"

"That's an order, Sergeant, I'll get General Madine on the horn if I have to."

The two guards begrudgingly re-boarded the shuttle, which quickly departed, leaving Ahsoka, Ghes, and Luke alone on the landing pad. The guards were unnecessary anyway, even if they'd wanted to escape they had no way to. Ghes hated to admit it, but Luke Skywalker was the one man in the galaxy he didn't think he could take, and Ahsoka didn't think she could bring herself to do anything to injure him.

Once the shuttle had cleared the pad, Luke turned to Ahsoka and Ghes.

"Ahsoka, General Marczak."

Ghes clasped his hand on Luke's shoulder, an act of familiarity the young man seemed slightly uncomfortable with.

"Kid, you're on a first name basis with my wife, and we're technically the same rank. I think you can call me Ghes."

"Okay, sure… Ghes."

Ahsoka laughed a little at this, watching Ghes try and interact with Luke was always amusing, especially considering the complicated relationship he'd had with Anakin.

"So why'd you bring us here, Luke? If you wanted to talk you knew where to find us."

"As you already know, I intend to rebuild the Jedi Order…."

"Luke, I already told you, I don't know if I can be a part of that."

"I know you still haven't made up your mind about helping me, that's not what this is about."

"Than what is it about?"

"If I'm going to rebuild the Order I need to know more about it. I figured the Temple was as good a place as any to start, and you grow up here, so…"

"You want me to show you around. I don't know Luke, it's been a long time, and this place holds some pretty bitter memories for the both of us."

"Both of you?"

Ghes was staring blankly off at the skyline, lost in memories of that night. But he could feel Luke's gaze on him all the same, and gestured up the staircase leading to the main entrance as he began.

"The last time a Skywalker walked up those steps, the 501st followed behind him, parade style. My boys came up from the sublevels. Together with your father, I helped _end_ the Jedi Order in its own house. No prisoners. No survivors."

Luke seemed shocked, he hadn't known. Ahsoka had been intentionally vague about that night whenever Luke asked, pretending she knew less than she did because she hadn't been there during the assault. The truth was that she knew exactly what had happened during Nightfall, Ghes had told her every gritty detail, and she had been trying to shield Luke and Leia from what was by far the lowest point Anakin or Vader had ever hit.

Luke's brow furrowed in anger. He took a step towards Ghes.

"You…"

Ahsoka put her hand on his chest to stop him.

"Luke, stop. He didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice."

Ahsoka opened her mouth to respond, but Ghes turned around and put up his hand to stop her.

"He's right, I did have a choice; I could have refused to carry out the Chancellor's orders. And if I'd done that I would have been arrested, executed, and Ahsoka would have been left alone in a galaxy on the hunt for force-sensitives. The Temple still would have been stormed, the only thing that would've changed is that I'd be dead, and Ahsoka probably would be to. That's not a choice I could've made."

"You'll learn someday, Luke, when you have people that care about, people that depend on you, you're not always going to be able to make the decision that's best for your conscience. Sometimes, you have to do the hard thing in order to keep them safe."

It was a grim reality, one that they'd had to deal with every day since Order 66. Luke seemed to understand, because he didn't say anything else about it. He'd probably already learned that lesson, Ahsoka guessed. She remembered that while he may have been young, he'd been through a lot the past seven years.

"It can't be all bad, Ahsoka, you grew up here, there had to be some happy times."

There were, how could there not have been, but that had been a long time ago. It had been more than twenty years since she'd walked down these steps and tried desperately not to look back, times had changed.

"Bittersweet memories, time has a way of poisoning things."

Time wore everything down eventually. Any memory of her childhood in the Temple had been soured by the betrayal of one of her closest friends, her expulsion from the Order, and finally the deaths of almost everyone she'd ever known. Luke wouldn't understand the ghosts that were waiting in there for her, she wasn't even sure if Ghes would.

Luke seemed less enthusiastic about this now then he'd at first, but he still seemed committed to doing it.

"I still want you to do this with me, but I'll understand if it's too difficult for you."

Ahsoka looked at Ghes, who shrugged noncommittally, indicating that he'd go along with whatever she decided. She wanted to do what she could for Luke, but this might be too much for her to handle. Running away from those memories wasn't going to change what happened, though. Maybe if she faced them…

"We'll go, but only were I say, the Temple can be confusing to outsiders, and there are some places I _won't_ go."

Luke smiled as they made their way up the massive staircase leading into the main entrance. The massive statues that had one flanked the entrance had been removed, along with those that lined the top edge of the temple ziggurat. This gave Ahsoka the feeling that the Temple they were walking into might not be the one she remembered.

Her suspicions were confirmed upon entering. The grand hallways were littered with debris the battle that had taken place here decades ago, plastoid plates, shredded and tattered robes, broken weapons. At least they'd had the decency to remove the bodies.

"Wow."

Luke seemed awed, not by the evidence of the carnage that had taken place, but by the sheer size and grandeur of the building itself. Ghes must have picked up on that.

"Yea, just screams of humility and service, doesn't it?"

"Huh?"

"This wasn't what you were expecting, was it?"

"No, not exactly. It's like…."

"A palace?"

"Yes."

It was what Ahsoka had expected Luke's reaction to be, mostly because it was the reaction most outsiders had seeing the inside of the Temple for the first time. She remembered the first time she'd Ghes to visit the Temple, he'd stopped just short of going on a tirade about the Order's hypocrisy. Ghes had never been to fond of Jedi, the only notable exceptions her and Anakin.

"Get used to it kid, the old Order spent a lot of time and money building an ivory tower to look down on everyone else from."

"Ghes…"

"What, it's true isn't it?"

Luke seemed confused by what Ghes was saying, and Ahsoka realized that part of the reason he'd wanted them to come here was that they had firsthand knowledge of not just the Temple, but the Jedi Order.

"Luke, do you understand what Ghes is trying to say?"

"That the old Order was arrogant? I think so."

"It's more than that though. The Order, especially the council, were very set in their ways, and where openly hostile to anyone who questioned them. That alienated a lot of people, including your father, and another, very good friend of mine."

It was still hard for Ahsoka to understand why Barriss had done what she'd done, but the war had changed everyone in unexpected ways.

Ghes mumbled under his breath.

"Traitor."

Ahsoka glared at him.

"Barriss had her own…, problems, that doesn't excuse what she did, but at least show some sympathy."

"Got it, I'll feel bad about the whole junkie thing… ow!"

He rubbed his arm where Ahsoka had punched him, that joke had gone a bit too far.

"You know I got shot there, right? Scar tissue's still sensitive."

"Yes, I do. Anyway, Luke, what I'm trying to say is that the Council let their obsession with rules get in the way of the compassion Jedi are supposed to feel for the people they protect. I their case, that included the Jedi under them."

It had been a rude awakening when Ahsoka had realized that for herself, when the Council had abandoned her to stand trial for crimes she didn't commit, based solely on circumstantial evidence and the urging of Tarkin. That they'd had the nerve to offer for her to come back as if nothing had happened was even more insulting.

The three continued further into the dimly lit halls of the Temple, finding themselves in what had been called the Room of a Thousand Fountains. It looked even worse than where they'd already been, the walls had been pock-marked by blaster fire and most of the fountains had been destroyed. Even now, decades later, the impression the battle had made in the force was still clear. Ahsoka could feel the anger, the hatred, the pain, felt by the Jedi and clones who'd fought and died here. It was so strong that she started to feel sick, and it seemed to be having the same effect on Luke.

As they neared the end of tainted hall, Ghes stopped and bent down to pick something up. As he stood, Ahsoka saw him turning an irregularly shaped piece of half-melted, black painted durasteel. It took her a minute to realize it was the receiver section of a DC-15, the barrel likely having been cut off by a lightsaber during the battle.

"This was mine; I recognize the serial number."

He tossed the weapon aside and they continued on. Ahsoka wondered if Ghes, with his limited force sensitivity, could feel what she and Luke could. Probably not, his limit seemed to be dodging punches and blaster bolts, not "reading minds", as he put it. Either way, he didn't need to be able sense anything to experience the emotion of what had happened here, he'd lived through it.

Deeper in the Temple, everything seemed to be built to a normal scale. This was where the Jedi had done most of their work, the classrooms, the workshops, meditation chambers. Occasionally, Ahsoka could remember what a room had been, what class she'd attended or what work she'd done there. Luke asked a lot of questions about what it had been like to grow up in the Temple, some very general, some specific. As Ahsoka answered him, she realized how much earlier she'd left the Temple than many of the people she'd grown up around. She'd been fourteen when she became Anakin's padawan, and for two years she spent most of at the front, first with the Anakin and Torrent Company, then, towards the end, with Ghes and his men. From what she'd seen before the war, most Jedi would never leave the Temple for more than a month at a time throughout their whole lives. In a lot of ways that made them a lot like the clone troops they'd led, many of whom saw little of the Galaxy outside of Kamino and the battlefront before their death.

Ahsoka stopped outside the corridor that she knew lead to the living quarters, number one on the short list of places she didn't want to go. Luke, however, had no such aversion, so he continued on while she and Ghes waited. After Luke had disappeared down the passageway, Ghes put his arm around Ahsoka and pulled her close to him.

"How you holding up?"

"Better than I thought I would. You?"

"I've revisited battlefields before, why should this be any different?"

"Because this is the one where everything changed, and I know you. You may act like nothing gets to you, but _this_ did."

Ghes sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Why'd I have to marry a Jedi? My life would be so much easier if you couldn't read my mind."

"I don't need the force to read your mind, that just comes from being a woman."

He chuckled, but Ahsoka knew he was just trying to keep up his usual act. Ghes acted tough, and he was, but there were a few things that had really gotten to him. He'd spent years trying to legitimize Knightfall in his own mind, as vengeance for Galidraan, or as the only path to peace, but he'd never really believed it. Ahsoka often wondered what would have happened to Ghes if he didn't have her to keep him grounded.

A quick movement in the shadows caught Ahsoka's attention, her eyes darted back and forth looking for the source. She took a step towards where she thought it was, and a rodent darted out of the shadows and down the hallway. Ahsoka laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"That rat reminded me what Rex told me when we first met, how I couldn't assume all clones were the same because they were clone, because that would mean I should match up with what the database said about Togruta, and I don't."

"Oh yea, I remember that thing. Who the hell ever thought you guys were venomous?"

"It has something to do with the way thiamars die when you bite them. It causes death spasms or something, I wouldn't know, I've never eaten one."

"So Rex told you that if all clones were the same, then you should be running around chasing rats."

"Yup."

"You ever miss him?"

"Of course, I miss them all."

The last of the Fett clones that had fought in the war had died shortly after the battle of Hoth, Rex had died a few years earlier. Not a day went by that Ahsoka didn't think about him or the other members of Torrent Company, they'd been some of the closest friends she'd ever had. That their lives had been so short was unfair, they'd deserved more. With everything they'd been involved in, the one thing she never regretted was Kamino.

Luke returned to a few minutes later, curiosity satisfied. They continued on, passing by the entrance to the lower levels, but Ghes said that there wasn't anything left down there, he and his men had grabbed everything out of the vaults during the battle. That left the archives as the next stop on their little tour, one of the few things that the troopers had been ordered to keep intact, though it was unlikely that any data actually remained on the servers. Even if the archives had been emptied, they were still visually impressive, four massive halls with high vaulted ceilings meeting at the great rotunda.

"Somebody cleaned up in here."

"What do you mean?"

"No blaster burns, no slash marks, no debris. They even cleaned the blood off that bust."

"Why was their blood… No, I don't want to know."

"Leia said that Palpatine used to let Coruscant's elite pay for tours of this part of the Temple. He must have wanted to hide how brutal the battle was."

That seemed to upset Ghes, and Ahsoka had a pretty good idea why. This was hallowed ground for him, he and his men had shed blood here. It might not make a lot of sense to some, the same could be said about battlefields all over the galaxy, but it made perfect sense to her. Having any evidence of what had happened here wiped away, turning it into a tourist attraction, that was the ultimate insult, to Ghes, and to everyone else who'd fought and died.

"I hated working for that man."

"And yet you both did for twenty years."

"We've gone over this, kid, I don't regret working for the Empire, just Palpatine."

"So you want to go back?"

Ghes was silent, what Luke said had caught him of guard. But that was the question, wasn't it? If he didn't want to stay with the New Republic, and he'd made clear he didn't, then where would they go? Ghes hadn't set his mind on anything, or at least he hadn't told Ahsoka if he had. In any case, she felt that the conversation needed to be diverted.

"You know, I used to hate spending time here on guard detail."

"They used to pull you away from the front for that?"

"When your name came up in the rotation, or if you did something stupid and needed to be taught a lesson."

"Yea, that happened to her all the… Ow!"

"Once, it happened once."

"Yea, I know, it was a joke. What is it with you and my arm today?"

It turned out the archives hadn't been emptied, though none of them could think of a reason why, so the collective knowledge gathered by Jedi over thousands years remained intact. Luke decided that he'd have to return later with a team to sort through all of the information. That left them with only one place left to go, the upper surface of the Temple ziggurat, as the five towers that had previously stood atop the temple had been collapsed during Isaard's escape.

"So, you didn't know anything about _Lusyanka_?"

"I knew ISB had a prison black site in Imperial City. What I didn't know was that that black site was an _Executor_ -class dreadnaught Palpatine hid under the city as his personal yacht. Though most of the fleet suspected he was holding back resources we could have used."

As they reached the surface, the sun could be seen sinking below the horizon, silhouetting the space scrapers that made up the skyline. Galactic city didn't often look peaceful, but, with almost traffic crowding the skylanes, it did right now. The three stood admiring the view in silence for a long time before Ghes spoke.

"Maybe."

"What?"

"I'm answering your question, kid, from before, maybe I want to go back."

"And why could you possibly want to do that?"

"With Palpatine and your father dead we can rebuild, do it right this time."

"Right?"

"Without the corruption Palpatine fostered, without the backstabbing that had me looking over my shoulder constantly, and without the racism."

He was looking at Ahsoka as he said that last part. It had always bothered Ghes how quickly the Emperor's policy of human-supremacy had become embedded, and how that had tainted everyone's view of her even more then her force-sensitivity.

"Sounds like a dream."

"It is a dream, Luke, but so is rebuilding the Jedi Order."

They stood in sharp contrast, an aging Imperial officer and a young Jedi Knight. But maybe, Ahsoka thought, Luke and Ghes weren't as different as they thought. Both wanted to fix the mistakes of the past, rebuilding what had been lost greater than it was before. She didn't know whether it would work out in either case, but they made her believe it could. And after all the galaxy had been through, wasn't that hope enough?


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't normally write a preface, but this one needs it. This is an alternate version of** ** _Marczak_** **that branches off towards the end of Part II, right after Onderon, so if you haven't read that I recommend you do so before reading this.**

Col. Marczak hated a lot of things. He hated his colleagues. He hated the majority of his superiors. He hated the Outer Rim, though somehow he always seemed to be sent out here. More than anything else, he hated babysitting Vader's pets.

Being Mandalorian, Marczak had never liked or trusted most of the force users he'd come in contact with, but these inquisitors where worse than all the others. They were self-righteous, self-important, and they bossed him around like he was some rank and file trooper who couldn't muster two brain cells to rub together. He wasn't, he was an officer, and he didn't _officially_ answer to anyone other than the highest echelons of Imperial command. Unofficially, of course, he answered to Vader, the 501st was his legion after all, in spirit if not in practice. The Inquisitors answered to Vader as well, supposedly through some recently deceased 'Grand' Inquisitor Marczak had never seen, so they were around the dark lord constantly.

It wasn't as bad as it used to be, at least, the first Inquisitor Marczak had run into had threatened to kill him for talking back. Thrusting a vibroblade through that blowhard's throat had been one of the more satisfying moments of Marczak's military career since the war ended. After that he hadn't received any threats, but they still seemed angered by his lack of deference towards them.

Worse than being sent to babysit two Inquisitors on the backwater that was Tokobo, was not being told why he was being sent. As far as he or ISB knew, the planet had no rebel presence, nor any capability to mount an armed resistance capable of overwhelming the local garrison. Against such nonexistent obstacles, the two operatives shouldn't have had any issue retrieving whatever it was Vader wanted. Marczak felt like Vader was hiding something from him, like there was another reason he was here that had nothing to do with the Inquisitors.

"Sir!"

Marczak turned towards the trooper running up the road towards him.

"What is it, Corporal?"

"The Inquisitors, sir, they're engaging Jedi near the spaceport!"

Jedi, great, because more force users were exactly what he needed today.

"Bring the transport around, inform them we'll be arriving momentarily."

Their arrival was delayed by the crowds of civilians rushing away from the spaceport, evidence that the situation had gotten well out of hand. When Marczak and his men had finally arrived on the scene, the first thing that caught the Colonel's eye were the black-clad forms of the Inquisitors laying on the street. This was going to be interesting.

"What's the situation, where are the Jedi?"

"There's just one, sir, the rest of the rebels retreated into the hanger."

"One…"

Marczak moved through the line of troopers encircling whoever had just defeated the Inquisitors. That's when he saw her.

"Ahsoka…"

* * *

Ahsoka smiled as the Stormtroopers surrounded her. She'd just dispatched two Inquisitors without much effort, what did they possibly think they'd be able to do to her? Obviously not much, because the troopers held their ground.

She was about to turn around and rejoin her friends when one, black armored trooper stepped through the line and walked towards her, rifle pointed at the ground. Ahsoka looked at him in disbelief, was this grunt suicidal, or was he just stupid? She reached out in the force and pulled the blaster from his grasp and into hers, the trooper didn't make much effort to hold on to it. He continued forward, waving down the others when they readied their own weapons. Confused, Ahsoka reached out in the force towards the odd man and felt… nothing. Not really nothing, he was clearly present in the force, but he gave off no emotions, no intentions. She'd only ever met one person able to shield his mind like that.

"Ghes?"

The trooper stopped right in front of her and removed his helmet. It was Ghes all right, about fifteen years older and with a few more scars, but it was him. He smiled grimly.

"Ahsoka."

He shouldn't have been here; this hadn't been part of the plan.

"Ghes, what are you…"

She was interrupted by a ball of energy which caught Ghes square in the chest, rendering him unconscious. The troopers panicked, opening fire in their typical inaccurate fashion. Ahsoka turned around to see Ezra holding up the hilt of the odd combo blaster/lightsaber he'd constructed. She scowled, he looked confused why. Slinging Ghes's body over her shoulders, Ahsoka ran toward the _Ghost._ Ezra, still confused, followed her.

"What are you doing?! We're not here to kidnap Stormtroopers!"

Ignoring him, she continued up the _Ghost_ 's ramp as it took off, only to find herself receiving similar reactions from the rest of the _Ghost_ 's crew.

"What were you thinking?!"

"I had everything under control. Then Ezra shot him, and it just… happened."

"No, no, you're not going to pin this on me!"

"Well you shouldn't have butted in!"

"A Stormtrooper was right in front of you, twenty others were getting ready to shoot, in what way is that under control?!"

"They wouldn't have fired!"

"How could you possibly know that?!"

Ahsoka gestured down towards Ghes's unconscious body.

"Because he wouldn't have let them."

That statement seemed to confuse the rebels even more.

"Who even is this guy, how do you know him?"

"That's… complicated."

That answer wasn't going to get her out of anything, their faces made that apparent.

"Well, you'd better start explaining. Otherwise we'll have to have Zeb shoot him out the airlock."

Ahsoka took a deep breath. She had tried to avoid thinking about any of this for years, and remembering now still wasn't easy.

"This is Colonel Ghes Marczak, formerly of the Grand Army of the Republic, 501st Legion. That's how we met, he ran the ARF battalion, General Skywalker had me tag along with him on a few missions. Working together, we were close and, eventually, we got… involved."

"Wasn't that kind of thing forbidden for Jedi?"

"Yes, but that didn't really seem to matter, not with everything else that was going on in the war. We were in love, or at least as close as either of us had ever been to love. We kept it hidden, the troopers knew, but they stayed silent. Anakin found out, but he had his own secrets he needed kept."

"What happened, why'd you split up?"

"We never really did. He was out of contact in the Outer Rim when I left the Order. When that happened, I was confused, my entire life had collapsed around me, so I panicked and dropped off the grid. After that, we just never found each other again, every time I stuck my head back above ground, Ghes was off fighting in some remote corner of the galaxy, then the war ended and I was forced underground permanently."

"So you just gave up?"

"I guess I did."

"And him?"

* * *

 _Flame lit up the night sky as the village burned. Around him, troopers let lose into the primitive structures with blasters and flamethrowers, others dragged screaming villagers away from their immolated homes to an uncertain fate. Ghes walked through the horror in a daze, unable to fully process what was going on around him. He knew it was pointless, knew how wrong it all was, but he'd given the order anyway. He hadn't had a choice. Turning a corner, he saw a woman hunched over in the street, sobbing as she watched everything she'd ever known turn to ash around her. Robotically, he raised his blaster and moved toward the distraught figure. Something crunched under his boot, causing the woman to stand and turn to face him, tears still streaming down her face. Ghes froze when he saw what he hadn't when she was hunched over on the ground. She was a Togruta. He lowered his blaster as the woman's eyes searched his visor for some sign of his intentions. The two stood motionless in the street for what seemed like hours, her frozen in place by fear, Ghes frozen by, something else. Suddenly, a beam of searing red light erupted from the woman's chest, twisting her face into a mixture of shock and fear. She fell to her knees, then collapsed forward, the saber still buried half way to the hilt in her back. It was Ghes's turn be afraid, feeling the blood drain from his face as the saber deactivated and the hilt rose into the air. The metallic cylinder flew through the air towards it's master, currently striding down the street in the direction of the stunned colonel. The firelight reflected off the gleaming black face mask of Lord Vader as the Sith seemed to stare into Ghes's very soul._

 _"Most disappointing, Colonel."_

Ghes's eyes shot open as the vison of his horrific past faded back into memory. His head hurt, he didn't remember why. It must have been a hangover, he really had to stop drinking so much. It didn't do much to stop the nightmares anyway.

Slowly, he reached up to rub his temples, only to realize he was still in his armor, and handcuffed. That jolted him out of the fog he'd woken up in. Ghes looked around, he didn't recognize the room he was in. Crew quarters of some kind, small ship, civilian originally, probably converted for combat by some insurrection.

Then it came back to him, he'd seen Ahsoka, he'd talked to her. He'd been shot, or stunned, as was now apparent. Now he was being held captive, not really Ahsoka's style, but a lot could have changed in fifteen years. Best not to think about that kind of thing now, though, he needed to figure out exactly what his situation was.

"Hey! Anyone alive around here?!"

The door slid open and a Lasat walked in, clearly unhappy with his charge's renewed consciousness.

"What do you want, buckethead?"

Why were rebels always so uncouth? Sometimes Ghes missed the more sophisticated brutes that had run the Sep's army.

"What ship is this? Where are you taking me?"

The Lasat smiled wryly.

"Now wouldn't you like to know?"

He turned to exit the room as Ghes stood up.

"Wait! Where's Ahsoka?"

He stopped at the door.

"Who?"

"Ahsoka, or Commander Tano, or whatever it is you call her. Where is she, I need to see her."

The Lasat smiled again.

"Huh, so she was telling the truth. Don't worry, loverboy, I'll let her know you're looking for her."

He exited after that, leaving Ghes alone once again. At least he had an idea of where he was now, the Lasat had given it away, he was onboard the _Ghost,_ a modified civilian transport belonging to the Lothal rebel cell. And he'd confirmed Ahsoka was here. Now all Ghes had to do was figure a way out of these cuffs and out of this room.

* * *

"That's all he said?"

"Yea."

"And he hasn't said anything sense?"

"No, hasn't made a sound."

"And that doesn't seem odd to you?"

Zeb gave her an annoyed look, clearly irritated.

"Why should it?"

Ahsoka scowled at the Lasat.

"Go get him."

Zeb rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Ezra! Go get the Commander's boyfriend."

The boy disappeared down the corridor. Zeb looked concerned when he failed to return immediately.

"Ezra! Ezra! Where'd he go?"

The Lasat stood and started off to find Ezra, but stopped when he heard him call out from down the corridor.

"Zeb! Ahsoka!"

Ezra stepped back out of the corridor followed by Ghes, who had Ezra's blaster trained on the boy's temple. Zeb grabbed his rifle, training it on Ghes.

"Let the kid go!"

Ghes smirked.

"I don't think so. You're going to drop the blaster so me and Commander Tano can have a little chat, or I'll give your friend here a lobotomy."

Zeb growled, unsure of how to proceed without putting Ezra at risk. He looked over at Ahsoka, who gestured for him to do what Ghes said. Begrudgingly, the Lasat placed his weapon on the ground and kicked out of reach. Ghes smiled smugly as he released Ezra, but the kid was stupid, turning around to take a swing at him. Nonchalantly, Ghes caught the boys fist, using it to twist him to the ground before flipping the selector switch his blaster's handle. He put one stun round into Ezra, then another two into Zeb as he opened his mouth to protest. Satisfied with his handiwork, Ghes turned to Ahsoka.

"Now we're alone."

Ahsoka nodded, it was probably better that way, no matter how pissed Ezra and Zeb would be when they regained consciousness. She moved closer to Ghes, still encased in the black Stormtrooper armor he'd been in when she'd first seen him. He spoke again.

"You're alive…"

She felt a pang of guilt, realizing fully just how hard her "death" had hit him.

"I had to be dead, it was the only way to keep them from hunting me."

Ahsoka looked up into Ghes's eyes, expecting him to be angry, to feel betrayed by what she'd done, she expected to see the rage swell in him. But she didn't see any of that.

"I never really believed it, especially once I started hearing rumors…"

Of course he'd kept looking. Once again Ahsoka felt guilty, she'd given up on finding Ghes years ago, but he'd never have stopped, not until he found her, dead or alive.

Ghes put his hands on Ahsoka's waist and slowly pulled her in closer. Suddenly, everything she'd felt all those years ago came flooding back. Being here, with him, felt right. But there was still one thing she needed to say.

"I'm sorry."

He stopped, their faces inches apart, and she saw the shift in his eyes as the anger she'd expected from the beginning came to the surface.

"Sorry? You're sorry?"

He'd pulled back now, keeping her at arm's length as all the anger and resentment that had built up in him since Ahsoka had left came pouring out.

"I waited for you, Ahsoka! I spent months just waiting, but did you ever contact me? Did you ever show up and offer an explanation? No, you just walked out of my life the same day you walked away from the Republic! For a while, I told myself you just needed space, that you'd come back when you found whatever answers you were looking for, but you never did! No, instead you contact _Skywalker_ , take a hundred troopers, and run off to Mandalore without so much as a courtesy call to me!"

Ghes had flown into a full fit of rage, voice straining, arms gesturing wildly.

"I thought we had something special, something no one could take from us! You walked out on that, but I still waited for you, searched for you for years! And, now that I've found you, that's all you have to say for yourself?! You're sorry?!"

Calming down slightly, Ghes moved over to the nearest bulkhead, leaning his forearm and head against the durasteel. Ahsoka walked up behind him and put her hand on his back.

"I don't know what else you want me to say, Ghes."

He breathed in and out a few times before responding, as if trying to steady his voice.

"I don't know why I blew up like that…"

Ghes shook his head and laughed, but there was never any humor in his voice.

"…It's my fault, I should have been on Coruscant, I should have been there for you."

She tried to protest.

"Ghes, it's not…"

He cut her off sharply

"No, Ahsoka, it is. The one time you needed me to be there for you, and I was on the other side of the galaxy."

"You were a soldier, we both were. I wouldn't have asked you to shirk your duty just to rescue me."

"But I would've, I would've done anything for you."

 _Would've_ , past tense. Ahsoka hoped he still felt the same way about her now as he had back then.

"That's in the past now, we can't do anything to change it."

Ghes turned around to face her, leaning back against the bulkhead, trying to fake a smile.

"Then I guess we both should stop trying to apologize for it."

Ahsoka smiled to, hoping it looked a bit more genuine. At least the confrontation they'd both known was inevitable was over, maybe now they could start thinking about where to go from here. But first she had to know what he'd been up to for so long.

"What have you been Ghes, what have you been doing all these years."

"Isn't it obvious?"

He gestured down at his armor, as if the mere fact he was wearing it said everything she needed to know.

"They let you stay on after the war?"

"It was a bit more complicated than that, but, yea, essentially. They put me in charge of the 501st, though I still seem to end up running errands. That's why I was on Tokobo, I was supposed to keep an eye on those two Inquisitors."

"Didn't really do too good of a job at that, did you?"

He laughed.

"No, I guess not. They treat me like shit anyway, could never get them to understand that I'm different from the Stormtroopers they're used to."

"You sure look different."

Ghes did look a quite different than most troopers. In addition to the glossy black finish of his armor, he also wore a black pauldron and an array of ammunition pouches on his chest and hips. Knowing Ghes, Ahsoka guessed that he also made some more subtle additions.

"Picked up on that, huh? Yea, I swiped this from one of the special units. Made a few modifications of my own to, I'd love to show you sometime."

"The color doesn't bother your superiors?"

Ahsoka knew enough about the Imperial military to understand their uniformity policy, anything that deviated even slightly was harshly discouraged.

"Not the one who matters. He might even find it flattering."

That statement gave Ahsoka pause, though she wasn't immediately sure why. It wasn't for another few moments that she connected the seemingly innocent joke to the question she had to ask.

"Why? Who is he?"

It was the slightest movement, but Ahsoka caught it. Ghes had flinched when she'd asked that question, which meant he really didn't want to answer.

"Why do you ask?"

She had to give Ghes credit, it would have been impossible for her to detect his deceit if she hadn't known him so intimately.

"Is he tall? Wears all black and a helmet with a face mask?"

Ahsoka caught another flinch breaking through Ghes's otherwise calm exterior when she described the man who'd attacked Kanan and Ezra.

"Who is he Ghes?"

Ghes looked away, giving up all pretense of ignorance. He really didn't want to tell her, but it was clear to him she wasn't going to drop the subject. Taking a deep breath, he spoke solemnly.

"Lord Vader."

The name itself meant nothing to her, but it's implication was clear.

"A Sith?"

He nodded, all the while keeping his gaze directed down at the ground.

"Then who _was_ he?"

Once again, Ghes hesitated before responding.

"You don't want me to tell you that."

The 'matter of fact' statement only made her more sure of what she'd already suspected.

"It's Anakin, isn't it?"

Ghes's silence was the only answer Ahsoka needed. She burst into tears, unable to control her emotions now that she knew for sure that her friend and mentor had become the very monster who'd destroyed the Jedi. She must have also seemed like she was going to collapse, because Ghes moved quickly to support her. Ahsoka allowed Ghes to embrace her, grateful for any compassion in the depths of this new sorrow, and rested her head against his chest. After a few minutes, Ghes leaned back against the bulkhead, pulling Ahsoka with him as they slid into a seated position. The two sat like that for a while, silent, alone but for the Lasat and human who still lay unconscious. For both it was the closest they'd felt to another living being in years.

After more than an hour of silence, Ahsoka, mind beginning to clear, felt something emanating from under her head, still rested on Ghes's breastplate. It was a Force presence, one that didn't belong to Ghes but was still familiar.

"Ghes?"

His response was sleepy, as if he'd been on the verge off dozing off.

"Yea?"

"I feel something."

"What? I swear… Oh wait, you mean under my breastplate."

Ghes shifted as he reached up under his armor and started rummaging. It took him a minute, but eventually he pulled out a small, concave square of plastoid, some sort of container.

"Here, these belong to you."

With the objects no longer masked by Ghes's presence, Ahsoka knew what they were before he'd even placed them in her hand. Ahsoka's eyes began to tear as she saw, sitting in that plastoid cup, her original two lightsaber crystals.

"Were did you get these?"

"I stole them. It was a stupid thing to do, I know, but I guess I'm just sentimenta…"

Ghes was cut off as Ahsoka pulled him into a kiss just as deep as the first one they'd shared on Umbara all those years ago.

The last week had been confusing for Ghes, and, for the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do. For years, the only thing he'd wanted was to be reunited with Ahsoka, and now he had been.

* * *

The rest of that first day had gotten complicated. For one thing, the Lasat and the Jedi kid had to wake up eventually. Rex walking in with the other Jedi and the Twi'lek hadn't helped. _That_ confrontation would have gotten real messy, real fast if Ahsoka hadn't been there. As he watched her explain what had occurred, Ghes couldn't get over how much she'd changed in fifteen years. These rebels respected her as much or more than they did the aged clone officer. Not that she hadn't been respected during the war, she had, but this was different. Ahsoka was more to these people than an officer or a comrade, she'd built this rebellion from practically nothing, and being one of two remaining Jedi probably didn't hurt either. In the end, Ghes had neither been executed or locked back up, in exchange for his promising to behave, of course.

After that, Ghes had been pretty much free to wander the series of hangers that served as the base of operations for this rebel cell, apparently called phoenix squadron, on Garel. He did have to be escorted at all times, however, a job for which only Ahsoka had volunteered. That was fine with Ghes, he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could, so he spent most of the day following her around. Ahsoka's involvement in running phoenix squadron meant they had little time alone, but they'd still managed to sneak off together a few times.

All things considered, it had been the most enjoyable and relaxing time he'd had in years. And there lie the problem.

"You know I can't stay, right?"

Ahsoka looked up at him, confused and more than a little upset.

"What? What do you mean you can't stay?"

At least they were alone, Ghes had a strong feeling this wasn't going to be pretty. He wondered if the walls on these corvettes were sound proof.

"Here, with you, with these rebels."

She recoiled from him, anger and a hint if betrayal showing on her face.

"You're going to leave? Everything you said about me, about _us_ , and you're just going to leave?"

"It's not like that Ahsoka. I don't want to leave, but I don't really have a choice."

"You don't have a choice? Really? Don't give me that crap, Ghes."

"It's not crap, I'm an Imperial Officer, a Stormtrooper, I don't belong here."

Ahsoka's expression changed from anger to sympathy.

"Is that what this is about? You can defect Ghes, they'll accept you without holding your service against you."

"No they won't, not after what I've done."

"Everybody's done things they're not proud of, Ghes."

"Not like I have. I'm not a good man, Ahsoka, not anymore."

"What have you done? What could possibly be so terrible that you can't make up for it?"

Ghes didn't respond immediately, instead just looking at Ahsoka. The look on her face said that she thought he was just being stupid, like, no matter what he'd done, it would be ay because he had her. Could he tell her the truth? She'd hate him if he did, probably wouldn't ever want to see him again, might even try to kill him. But wasn't it worse to lie to her?

"I was at the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka. The night Order 66 went out, I was there."

The look of shear shock and horror on Ahsoka's face was almost more than he could bare, she looked at him as if he had suddenly transformed into some grotesque monster.

"What? How could you…"

"They used me, Vader and Palpatine, they knew how angry I was about you leaving, how I blamed the Jedi, how I _hated_ them. The clones didn't have a choice, but I let my hatred convince me that the Jedi really had betrayed the Republic, like they'd betrayed you. I killed so many. Every time I close my eyes I see faces. Not just Jedi, but every innocent being who died because, for fifteen years, I've let them use me as a weapon. I'm a fool, and a coward for not fighting back when I realized what was happening."

Ghes had started to cry during his confession, slowly losing his composure until he'd finally broken down. Ahsoka put her arms around him, trying to comfort Ghes the way he had her days earlier. She knew enough about him to know why he'd hesitated so long before telling her.

"The Emperor tricked everyone, Ghes, I can't hate you for what happened any more than I can hate the clones."

Ghes took a few breathes before he regained enough composure to speak.

"No, Ahsoka, I had a choice. I had a choice and I choose to let my anger take over. You can't save me from what I've done, no one can."

The silence that followed felt like it might have lasted forever before Ahsoka spoke.

"If you had a choice then, why don't you have one now?"

Before Ghes could answer an alarm sounded and a commotion could be heard in the corridor outside. The two glanced at each other, both knowing that this would have to wait. Ahsoka stood and rushed for the door as Ghes slapped armor plates back onto his body suit. Ahsoka stopped a crewman rushing down the passageway.

"What's going on?"

"Imperial attack imminent, Ma'am, we've got to get off the ground, _now_."

Ghes stood and followed Ahsoka as they ran toward the corvette's bridge.

"There'll be troopers on the way, if they get here, you'll never get airborne."

She looked confused by his statement.

"And?"

"If they find me, it'll distract them long enough for you to get away."

He turned down the corridor that led to the starboard airlock. Leaving wasn't going to be easy, but his sudden appearance would distract the troopers long enough for the ship to get away. Ahsoka caught up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Wait! I don't want you to go."

He smiled.

"And I don't want to leave, but it's the only way."

Ghes could tell by looking at her that she knew he was right. Ahsoka followed him to the airlock, hitting the button to open both doors before pulling him in for a kiss. Afterward, she slipped the small plastoid insert containing her original lightsaber crystals into his hand.

"Here."

He smiled down at her.

"I'll find you again."

Stepping toward the airlock exit, he looked back one last time toward Ahsoka as she called out to him.

"Think about what I said, you always have a choice!"

With that, Ghes stepped out into the empty space beyond the ship, shielding his face as he fell the two stories down to the tarmac.

"That's going to hurt in the morning."

He rolled over and sat up, secure in the knowledge that the fall should have hurt a lot more than it actually did.

"Sir!"

Looking behind him, Ghes saw a squad of troopers hauling a cannon rush into the hanger, obviously surprised by his presence. The sergeant rushed over to him, temporarily ignoring the rebel vessel that had been their target.

"Are you injured, sir, do I need to call a medic?"

"No, sergeant, I'm fine. Don't you have something else to worry about?"

Ghes gestured toward the corvette, now lifting itself slowly skyward and out of the hanger. The sergeant yelled for the other troopers to set up the cannon, but it was too late.

"My apologies, sir, the rebels escaped."

Smiling slightly so the troopers wouldn't notice, Ghes stood.

"That's okay, sergeant, your prioritization of a superior officer's well-being will be noted in my report."

He looked up toward the fleeing vessel.

"We'll get 'em next time."

* * *

"Ma'am."

Ahsoka nodded in acknowledgement toward the crewman who'd greeted her as she entered the bridge.

"Report?"

"Breaking orbit now. TIEs in pursuit, but we should be clear make the jump to hyperspace."

"Good."

With the battle behind them and escape a certainty, Ahsoka stared out the viewport and allowed her mind to wander back to Ghes. Gripping the hilts of her new lightsabers, she thought about what he'd said about how he was beyond saving. Of course he wasn't, she thought, these crystals proved nothing was ever beyond saving. Even Anakin.

* * *

Great, Ghes thought as he stepped out of the shuttle onto Malachor's barren surface, another wasteland. What had Vader even been doing here when he was stranded? More importantly, why had he insisted that Ghes be the one to retrieve him? Another two for the long list of questions for which he was probably never going to get an answer.

Pulling a pair of macrobinoculars off his belt, he joined the squad of troopers in scanning the horizon for the armored figure of the dark lord. He was spotted a few minutes later, approaching from the direction of a large pile of rubble that sat a kilometer away. Vader appeared to be struggling, so Ghes and his squad rushed to the sith's side.

He wasn't in good shape. Lord Vader's life support suit was torn in multiple locations, and a large portion of his helmet had been cut out, revealing his right eye and the pale skin surrounding it. I wonder what did that, Ghes thought as he and the troopers helped Vader to the base of the shuttle's ramp.

"Can you make it up the ramp, my Lord."

Vader responded in a warped version of his usual, modulated voice, more similar to how he'd spoken before his injuries.

"Yes, Colonel, I no longer require your assistance."

Ghes nodded, then motioned for the troopers to board the shuttle. Vader remained at the end of the ramp as they passed.

"Colonel."

"Yes, my lord?"

"It may interest you to know the cause of my injuries."

"Why, my lord?"

"Because it involves Ahsoka Tano."

Ghes felt his fingers tighten around his rifle.

"Ahsoka?"

"Yes, she engaged me within the temple you see on the horizon. I thought you'd wish to know of her demise by my hand."

Lord Vader turned to enter the shuttle, but stopped when Ghes did not immediately follow.

"We are departing, Colonel."

Ahsoka's dead, Ghes thought, he killed her. He's not getting away with this, not this time. Taking his rifle in one hand, Ghes swung the weapon up toward the back of the dark lord's head.

A blaster fired, a lightsaber whirred, and a scream rung out as Ghes's arm fell to the ground, severed at the shoulder.

Ghes fell to his knees. Vader deactivated his blade and held up his hand to stop the troopers who'd rushed to investigate.

"Most disappointing, Colonel. Your weakness for Skywalker's padawan has once again caused you to act rashly."

His response was pained.

"You son of a bitch, just kill me already."

"No, Colonel, the desert will see to that. As I said, your assistance is no longer required."

Vader turned and stalked up the shuttle ramp, which closed behind him as the shuttle lifted up into the sky. Ghes, now left stranded, fell forward, then struggled to roll onto his back. Watching the shuttle disappear into the sky, he clutched at his chest. As his vision slowly went black, he croaked out:

"Ahsoka… I'm sorry."


End file.
